April 15
Events *1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France. *1632 - Battle of Rain; Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. *1715 - Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina. *1738 - Premiere in London of Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. *1755 - Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language published in London. *1783 - Preliminary articles of peace ending Revolutionary War ratified. *1802 - William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy see a "long belt" of daffodils, inspiring the former to pen I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud. *1865 - Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by John Wilkes Booth. * 1865 - Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the United States. *1892 - The General Electric Company forms. *1906 - The establishing of the Armenian organization, AGBU *1912 - The British passenger liner [[Wikipedia:RMS Titanic|RMS Titanic]] sinks after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic, causing the deaths of about 1,503 people. *1920 - Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti allegedly murder two security guards while robbing a shoe store. *1923 - Insulin first became generally available for use by diabetics. *1924 - Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas. *1927 - Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Norma and Constance Talmadge become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. *1940 - The Allies start their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which was occupied by Nazi Germany. *1941 - Belfast Blitz Two-hundred bombers of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacked Belfast, Northern Ireland. Killing one thousand people. *1942 - George Cross awarded to "to the island fortress of Malta - its people and defenders" by King George VI. *1943 - An Allied bomber attack misses the Minerva automobile factory and hits the Belgian town of Mortsel instead, killing 936 civilians. *1945 - The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated. *1947 - Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, breaking that sport's color line. *1955 - Ray Kroc opens his first franchise of McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines. *1957 - White Rock officially separates from Surrey and is incorporated as a new city. *1967 - Scotland defeat rivals England 3-2 at Wembley stadium, causing the scots fans to jokingly claim their side as "Unofficial world Champions", creating the phenomenon of the Unofficial Football World Championships. *1984 - British comedian Tommy Cooper suffers a massive heart attack while live on TV. *1986 - The United States launch Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya. *1989 - Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, a football stadium in Sheffield, resulting in 96 deaths. * 1989 - Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in the People's Republic of China. *1992 - National Assembly of Vietnam adopts the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. *1994 - Representatives of 124 countries and the European Communities sign the Marrakesh Agreements revising the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and initiating the World Trade Organization (effective January 1 1995). *1997 - Fire sweeps through a campsite of Muslims making the Hajj pilgrimage; the official death toll is 343. *2002 - An Air China Boeing 767-200, flight CA129 crashes into hillside during heavy rain and fog near Busan, South Korea, killing 128. Births *1452 - Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Renaissance Roman Catholic polymath (d. 1519) *1469 - Guru Nanak Dev, Founder of Sikhism (d. 1539) *1489 - Sinan, Ottoman architect (d. 1588) *1552 - Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician (d. 1626) *1588 - Claudius Salmasius, French classical scholar (d. 1653) *1641 - Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician (d. 1722) *1642 - Suleiman II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1691) *1646 - King Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699) * 1646 - Pierre Poiret, French mystic (d. 1719) *1684 - Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727) *1688 - Johann Friedrich Fasch, German composer (d. 1758) *1707 - Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (d. 1783) *1710 - William Cullen, Scottish physician (d. 1790) *1721 - Prince William Augustus, English military leader (d. 1765) *1741 - Charles Willson Peale, American painter, soldier and naturalist (d. 1827) *1772 - Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist (d. 1844) *1793 - Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer (d. 1864) *1794 - Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist (d. 1867) *1800 - James Clark Ross, English explorer (d. 1862) *1809 - Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician (d. 1877) *1832 - Wilhelm Busch, German poet (d. 1908) *1841 - Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian distillery founder (d. 1919) *1843 - Henry James, American author (d. 1916) *1858 - Émile Durkheim, French sociologist (d. 1917) *1861 - Bliss Carman, Canadian poet (d. 1929) *1874 - George Harrison Shull, American plant geneticist (d. 1954) * 1874 - Johannes Stark, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957) *1875 - James J. Jeffries, American heavyweight boxer (d. 1953) *1878 - Robert Walser, Swiss writer (d. 1956) *1879 - Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer (d. 1980) *1883 - Stanley Bruce, eighth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967) *1885 - Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947) *1886 - Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet (d. 1921) *1888 - Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (d. 1904) *1889 - Thomas Hart Benton, American muralist (d. 1975) * 1889 - A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979) *1892 - Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (d. 1983) *1894 - Bessie Smith, American blues singer (d. 1937) *1895 - Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards player (d. 1980) *1896 - Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, Russian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1986) *1901 - Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978) *1902 - Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002) *1904 - Arshile Gorky, Armenian Artist (d. 1948) *1907 - Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ethologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1988) *1908 - Eden Ahbez, American songwriter (d. 1995) *1912 - Kim Il-sung, President of North Korea (d. 1994) *1916 - Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982) *1917 - Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982) * 1917 - James Kee, American politician (d. 1989) *1920 - Richard von Weizsäcker, President of Germany *1921 - Georgi Beregovoi, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1995) *1922 - Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor * 1922 - Harold Washington, American politician (d. 1987) *1924 - Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor *1927 - Robert Mills, American physicist (d. 1999) *1930 - Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland *1933 - Roy Clark, American musician * 1933 - Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (d. 1995) * 1933 - Boris Strugatsky, Russian author *1936 - Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist *1937 - Bob Luman, American country singer (d. 1978) *1938 - Hso Khan Pha, Burmese politician *1939 - Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian-born actress * 1939 - Marty Wilde, British singer *1940 - Jeffrey Archer, British author * 1940 - Willie Davis, American baseball player * 1940 - Woodie Fryman, American baseball player * 1940 - Robert Lacroix, French Canadian professor of economics * 1940 - Robert Walker Jr., American actor *1941 - Howard Berman, American politician *1942 - Francis X. DiLorenzo, American Catholic prelate * 1942 - Walt Hazzard, American basketball player * 1942 - Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006) *1944 - Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (d. 1996) * 1944 - Dave Edmunds, Welsh musician *1947 - Lois Chiles, American actress * 1947 - Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish politician * 1947 - Mike Chapman, British songwriter *1948 - Michael Kamen, American composer (d. 2003) *1949 - Tonio K, American singer * 1949 - Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer *1950 - Josiane Balasko, French actress, director and screenwriter * 1950 - Amy Wright, American actress *1951 - Heloise, American newspaper columnist *1952 - Bengt Gingsjö, Swedish swimmer * 1952 - Kym Gyngell, Australian comedian * 1952 - Sam McMurray, American actor *1954 - Seka, American pornographic actress *1955 - Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (d. 1997) *1957 - Evelyn Ashford, American athlete *1958 - Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach * 1958 - Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer *1959 - Fruit Chan, Hong Kong film director * 1959 - Emma Thompson, English actress * 1959 - Thomas F. Wilson, American actor * 1959 - Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player and general manager *1960 - Tony Jones, English snooker player * 1960 - Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist * 1960 - HRH Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, heir to the Belgian throne *1962 - Surjit Bindrakhia, Punjabi Bhangra singer *1962 - Nawal El Moutawakel, Morrocan hurdler *1963 - Bobby Pepper, American journalist *1965 - Linda Perry, American musician *1966 - Samantha Fox, English singer *1967 - Frankie Poullain, British musician (The Darkness) * 1967 - Dara Torres, American swimmer * 1967 - Alt, Brazilian comic creator *1968 - Ed O'Brien, British musician (Radiohead) * 1968 - Stacey Williams, American model *1969 - Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player * 1969 - Milton Bradley, American baseball player * 1969 - Jimmy Waite, Canadian ice hockey goaltender *1970 - Flex Alexander, American actor *1971 - Katy Hill, British television presenter * 1971 - Sarah Jane Hamilton, British pornographic actress * 1971 - Jason Sehorn, American football player *1972 - Lou Romano, American voice actor * 1972 - Arturo Gatti, Canadian boxer *1974 - Mike Quinn, American football player * 1974 - Danny Pino, American actor * 1974 - Josh Todd, American musician (Buckcherry) *1975 - Paul Dana, American race car driver (d. 2006) *1976 - Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player * 1976 - Susan Ward, American actress *1977 - Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player *1978 - Austin Aries, American wrestler * 1978 - Tim Corcoran, American baseball player *1980 - Natalie Casey, British actress * 1980 - James Foster, English cricketer * 1980 - Raúl López, Spanish basketball player * 1980 - Victor Núñez, Costa Rican footballer * 1980 - Fränk Schleck, Luxembourgish cyclist *1981 - Andrés d'Alessandro, Argentine football player * 1981 - Seth Wulsin, American artist *1982 - Anthony Green, American musician * 1982 - Seth Rogen, Canadian actor and writer *1983 - Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player * 1983 - Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer *1984 - Rodney Carney, NBA athlete * 1984 - Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player *1985 - John Danks, American baseball player * 1985 - Aaron Laffey, American baseball player *1986 - Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Dutch footballer * 1986 - Thomas Heaton, English footballer *1990 - Emma Watson, English actress *1992 - Amy Diamond, Swedish singer * 1992 - Richard Sandrak, Ukrainian bodybuilder, martial artist, dancer and actor *1998 - Sharlene san Pedro, Filipino actress Deaths *1053 - Godwin *1220 - Adolf of Altena, Archbishop of Cologne *1415 - Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek humanist and grammarian *1446 - Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect (b. 1377) *1610 - Robert Parsons, English Jesuit priest (b. 1546) *1621 - John Carver, first governor of Plymouth Colony *1632 - George Calvert, Proprietor of the Avalon (Maryland) Colony (b. 1580) *1641 - Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (b. 1581) *1652 - Patriarch Joseph, head of the Russian Orthodox Church *1659 - Simon Dach, German poet (b. 1605) *1704 - Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (b. 1628) *1719 - Françoise d'Aubigné, second wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635) *1754 - Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (b. 1676) *1761 - Archibald Campbell, Scottish politician (b. 1682) * 1761 - William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (b. 1696) *1764 - Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France (b. 1721) * 1764 - Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer (b. 1679) *1765 - Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scientist and writer (b. 1711) *1788 - Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711) *1793 - Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary and geographer (b. 1718) *1804 - Charles Pichegru, French general (strangled in prison) (b. 1761) *1854 - Arthur Aikin, English chemist, mineralogist, and writer (b. 1773) *1865 - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809) *1888 - Matthew Arnold, English poet (b. 1822) *1889 - Father Damien, Belgian missionary (b. 1840) *1898 - Kepa Te Rangihiwinui, Maori military leader *1912 - Victims of the RMS Titanic * 1912 - Edward Smith, captain of the RMS Titanic (b. 1850) *1927 - Gaston Leroux, French writer (b. 1868) *1938 - César Vallejo, Peruvian poet (b. 1892) *1942 - Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (b. 1880) *1943 - Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (d. 1882) *1945 - Hermann Florstedt, Nazi leader (b. 1895) *1948 - Radola Gajda, Czech military commander and politician (d. 1892) *1949 - Wallace Beery, American actor (b. 1885) *1957 - Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and singer (b. 1917) *1962 - Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1881) *1963 - Edward "Carji" Greeves, Australian rules footballer (b. 1903) *1969 - Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain (b. 1887) *1970 - Ripper Collins, American baseball player (b. 1904) *1971 - Dan Reeves, American football team owner (b. 1912) *1974 - Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (b. 1906) *1975 - Richard Conte, American actor (b. 1910) *1980 - Raymond Bailey, American actor (b. 1904) * 1980 - Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1905) *1982 - Arthur Lowe, British actor (b. 1915) *1983 - Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (b. 1892) *1984 - Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedy magician (b. 1921) * 1984 - Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer (b. 1925) *1986 - Jean Genet, French author (b. 1910) *1988 - Kenneth Williams, English actor and comedian (b. 1926) *1989 - Nesuhi Ertegün, American record executive (b. 1917) * 1989 - Hu Yaobang, Chinese politician (b. 1915) *1990 - Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (b. 1905) *1993 - John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geologist (b. 1908) * 1993 - Leslie Charteris, Singapore-born author (b. 1907) *1994 - John Curry, English figure skater (b. 1949) *1995 - Harry Shoulberg, American painter, serigrapher (b. 1903) *1998 - Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator (b. 1925) *1999 - Harvey Postlethwaite, British engineer and racing car designer (b. 1944) *2000 - Edward Gorey, American illustrator (b. 1925) *2001 - Joey Ramone, American musician and singer (The Ramones) (b. 1951) * 2001 - Jack Elway, father of John Elway (b. 1932) *2002 - Damon Knight, American author (b. 1922) * 2002 - Byron "Whizzer" White, American football player and U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1917) *2003 - Erin Fleming, Canadian actress (b. 1941) * 2003 - Reg Bundy, British performer (b. 1941) *2004 - Ray Condo, Canadian musician (b. 1950) *2005 - John Fred, American singer (b. 1941) *2007 - Brant Parker, American cartoonist (b. 1920) Holidays and observances *Ancient Latvia — Tipsa Diena was observed. *Hawai'i - Father Damien Day — celebrated annually. *India - Baisakhi, Pôhela Boishakh, Rongali Bihu *North Korea - Arirang Festival held to commemorate Kim Il-sung's birth. *Roman Empire — the Fordicia was celebrated in honor of Terra. *United States - is the official deadline for filing a tax return in most areas of the country (see Tax Day). Liturgical feast days *translation of relics of Goeric of Metz *Abbo II of Metz *Saint Petrus Gonzalez *Saint Paternus *Saint Hunna External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April